Fire & Ice
by Rabid Nozomi
Summary: SesshxKagura. When Kagura ran away from Naraku, she came across a hidden mansion. What she thought was abandoned, was occupied. With someone who won't allow her to leave...
1. Unfound & Unhidden

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost. The first poem, "Fire & Ice" is copywritten to Robert Frost.

**Date Written: **March 15, 2005

**Notes:** Okay, this is a contest entry for a contest **Kikyo-The-Walnut** (651696) and **Banana Rum **(644334) of Legend Of Pickles put together. So the contest is that I must use the titles of the following Robert Frost poems in the fanfic. Well, please visit their site and perhaps enter their contest! And enjoy my fanfic. **-coughvoteforitcough- **Here is the first chapter. I finally got up to proofread and upload it. Enjoy.

When I say "mansion" I'm talking about a mix of pagodas/temples/castles/mansions. So don't try to image your typical mansion…add paper sliding doors, shouji, wood paneling, storm shutters, tatami, and etc…

By the way, I'm sorry, but Rin will not be in this fanfic. I couldn't fit her in without leaving her out. So let's just say she wasn't saved yet. Too bad there wasn't anyway to leave out Jyaken/Jaken.

* * *

_Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favour fire.  
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice._

And perhaps the world would end with neither. And perhaps they'd be on different sides. And perhaps they were meant for each other.

* * *

The kingdoms ruled with fire and ice, and often killed others, ruling other temples and kingdoms, and little prevailed. However, one kingdom was not touched. No, not at all, not ever touched. In fact, no one had known its existence, until a day when a young rebellious female stumbled upon it. 

She wandered through the Vantage Point, the tallest mountain of the area. Her shoulder long black hair brushed through the wind, and a long feathered pin held it up. Her red and white yukata ruffled against the wind, and she shivered.

Her name was Kagura, the wind mistress, a ruler of wind, a wind demon. And she was the incarnation of Naraku, the most malicious demon known in feudal Japan, and she absolutely hated him. She hated him with such passion that she attempted killing him, several times, but all failed. Later she found out that she must eliminate his heart, which was separated from his body. And she knew that she could never find his heart, so she constantly runs away. Desperately. And although she could run as far as she could, she knew that he owned her and her heart, and she could never be free.

Not any typical demon or human of the area had known who she was. She was a stranger, an unknown demon. But the ruler of the area had known exactly who she was. He was Sesshoumaru, the canine ruler, the _canis__ major_ of all canine demons. And he was determined to eliminate her from his ruling grounds.

He was a tall cold being, white long hair as white as the icy snow on the point. His eyes were distant and dark, and brown colored at that. He wore a long kimono, colored in white fur, one of great design and value.

Yet how neither of them knew what their true destiny was.

* * *

'Where is this place?' Kagura thought. She had wandered so far away, and the way back didn't seem like the way back at all. Each step seemed like one step backward taken. She had no idea where this land was, and nothing seemed familiar. But she did not care. As long as she was far from Naraku, she thought, and she cursed at him under her breathe. 

However lost, Kagura still wandered, farther and deeper into the forest. It was deadly cold, and she shivered at the ice. Snow began to fall adrift, quicker and quicker, and Kagura raced deeper into the forest, colder with the wind opposing her running body, but she kept running. There had to be some sort of building, somewhere broken down and abandoned that she could rest at.

Through the white fluttering dust of snow, she spotted grey-brown compost, and she raced towards it, ignoring the snow, ice, and cold. Kagura loathed the cold and ice, and she desired the hot fiery sun she basked in, on her feather, in the clouds. However, there she would be in Naraku's clutches, and she dreaded the thought of him.

She looked upon the compost, reading the sign that was nailed upon it. "Graveyard" it was labeled and she looked around her, realizing she was standing in a disused graveyard. Even though she was a bold female, the graveyard gave her the creeps. _But if there was a graveyard, there was surely a village nearby that had used it_, she thought. And even though the graveyard was barely used, she kept walking. She wasn't sure where to go, and after a few moments, she started off north; straight forward.

And she spotted it. A large dark mansion, one that was dirty and felt almost empty and dead. Kagura walked toward it, slowly. She had never seen such a mansion before; the ones she had seen were burning up and now were burned to the ground. Without thinking, she advanced towards the door and pulled at the knob, expecting it to be locked. Why, it was lockless! A door so old that it was created when locks weren't invented. Kagura pulled open the lockless door, and stepped inside. A whoosh of cold air rushed past her, and she entered and shut it as quickly and quietly as she could.

* * *

Sesshoumaru stood in his room, shining an old broken handle of a katana he had since he started ruling this kingdom. Suddenly he paused. He heard a shutter of a door in the main hall, and knowing that his servant was on an errand, he spotted the scent immediately after. 'Her…' He thought, and he silently placed the handle in his armoire, shutting it gently. 

He grabbed his sword, the Tenseiga, although he knew it would be worthless for offense. He had retrieved it from the pit of his father's bones, and whilst his younger half demon brother had gotten the strong one, he had gotten the katana that saved. He often thought that it was his father's idea of a joke, and although it was a fairly grand sword, Sesshoumaru believed it was worthless.

He raced silently down the fleet of stairs, and the way his kimono flowed down, it seemed as if he was gliding. The smell of the wind female got stronger and stronger down the stairs, and the first thing Sesshoumaru wanted to do was eliminate her. He could not risk his castle being revealed.

Finally, he spotted her looking about in the main hall. Instead of lunging in at her, he stopped, and watched her actions. For some reason, she seemed to awe him, and he stood, watching her actions, hiding in the camouflage of his white kimono. 'Foolish lesser demon…' He thought.

* * *

"Holy shit, this castle is huge…" Kagura muttered in awe and jealously. She betted there were hundreds of rooms, and that none of them were occupied. 

She wandered past the foot of wodden-made stairs and into the luxury room, where swords and paintings were in display, possibly to cause visitors and attract jealousy or approval. And Kagura was jealous. She desired this mansion, and wanted to stay here, as long as she could.

Tired, she was anxious to get into a futon and fall asleep. 'The futons must be damn soft…' Kagura thought, and she started up another foot of stairs, one that led to the main bedrooms.

At this point, Sesshoumaru rushed down the stairs and the wind of his speed banged against the door, causing it to open, then close. The wind whistled. Kagura looked up, but saw nothing. She assumed that it was the wind, and that it had reacted to her excitement and slight paranoia.

Kagura walked up the stairs slowly, and finally at the top, she leaned over the poorly made wooden railing, looking over the rooms and their features. After a while, she explored through the various rooms. But she was tired, and so she stopped, and went into a random bedroom. She slid open the closet door in expectance to find dusty old futons and blankets, but the ones there seemed clean, and she laid them out quickly, and undressed. Content, she slid under the blanket and wrapped herself under so. 'So soft…' She thought and fell asleep.

At that, Sesshoumaru stood at the room doorway in pure befuddlement. _That was his room_, he thought bitterly. He could just kill her now, but he wanted a good fight. Shaking his head, he closed the door and walked into a room farthest away from his own; one near the staircase. He sat against the door and fell asleep alertly, ready to wake up when the time came.


	2. Discovered With Bad News

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost.

**Random:**My only source of sugar left inthe house are those lil marshmellows from Lucky Charms.

**Author's Notes:** Okay, here is the second chapter of the contest. I'm sorry about the short-ness of it. Thankyou, **My Name Is Yet To Be Found**. **Banana Rum**, I really hope more people join. Would you like me to advertize the contest for you? Anywho, thanx. I'm not sure what she really wears either, thats why I called it a yukata. O.o **Fantastical Queen Ebony Black,** thankyou! That comment helped alot. I thought deep and I sorta agree. It'd be a lil depressing. I have this concept, that if someoneone knows online dies,one would never know. They'd just vanish, never to update, never to e-mail. And one wouldnever know what happened to him/her for the rest of one's life. And so it'll be itching at the back of one's mind of what happened to that person. They'd never know. That's my concept of it. **Zora** and **Kalliel**, it was a typo yet forgotten. The "Tensaiga" thing, I mean.

* * *

Kagura woke with a start. She didn't quite recall where she was, or what had happened in the last evening. 'I had run away from that bastard and then…' She thought, 'I came here! This empty mansion.' She remembered and she got up and kicked over the futon. Pulling her under-clothing on over her head, she folded over her futon and blanket and pushed them against the wall, leaving her yukata there. She walked over to the door and paused. 'That's odd…I swear I left the door open…' She thought, and she poked her head out of the doorway, looking both ways. 'Nothing…' _Perhaps it was the wind_, she thought, _but she controls wind. Perhaps there was another wind demon around?_ Kagura shook her head. _Severe case of paranoia…of Naraku._

She shuddered at the thought of him finding her here. Stepping out of the room, she wandered around. She was quite hungry, and food at Naraku's keep was scarce; Kagura tried starving herself to death, but could not die. Wandering downstairs, she walked around the luxury room, and spotted the other set of stairs at the main hallway, near the door. She spotted a doorway near it, and she walked up. 'There must be a freezer in here somewhere…' She thought, and she walked through the doorway into a small opening room, leading to a door. Kagura placed her hand across the door. 'Cold. Like ice.' She thought, and she opened the door. But there was nothing there at all. No frozen flesh of lesser demon, not even a leg of a chicken bird. She searched the whole freezer with her eyes, only to find a small note that said, _"Still mending wall." _It was signed, but the writing was too faded to make it out.

Kagura turned around, disappointed, and faced several bones spiked onto a white kimono. She looked upward, toward the face of the one who wore it. She was quite surprised and a little startled, and her heart skipped several beats. "I…hehe…" She mumbled.

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice inquired. It was Sesshoumaru of course, but Kagura did not know that. Kagura looked into the tall man's eyes to search for kindness or weakness, but when she could find none behind that cold strict glare, she shudder.

"Its funny…I woke up here and don't know how I got here." She lied. She backed up into the freezer.

"Don't lie to me, female." Sesshoumaru replied coldly. _There is something not right about killing this female_, thought Sesshoumaru. Never the less, he kept his hand ready on his katana, ready to strike if the threat came. "What are you doing here?" His cold voice repeated.

Kagura lowered her eyes to his arm, spotting that his hand was ready on his katana. '_So he is ready to fight? Then let's fight, bastard!_' She thought, but she did no such thing. She just stood there, in fear, although she did not want to show it. "I was just leaving!" She shouted arrogantly, and walked ahead, pushing him out of the way to leave. But he did not budge.

"I can't allow you to leave." He told her coldly.

"Wha?" Kagura murmured in shock. Sesshoumaru grabbed her wrist and started pulling her away from the freezer. "Let me go, you ass!" She shouted, pulling her arm from the man's grasp. But his grip was too strong. "Let me go!"

"As you wish." Sesshoumaru replied, releasing his grasp, causing her to fall.

"How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are!" Kagura shouted at him, sitting on the floor. She stood up and rubbed her back side.

"…" Sesshoumaru said nothing. Instead, he quickly socked Kagura in the face. She fell backward, landing sideways on the floor. "Hmph." Sesshoumaru picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder. 'What an expressive female. I no longer have the will to kill her.' Sesshoumaru thought as he was walking up the stairs, toward "her" bedroom. He kicked the folded futon open and dropped her on it.

* * *

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" A small toad-like demon shouted out. He opened the main door with much struggle, and tripped over the doorway. A two headed staff flew out ahead of him. The door behind him shut closed with a big "bam" and smashed his feet in. The small demon rubbed his face. "I have some urgent news of Naraku's location!" He shouted tiredly, scampering up and retrieving his staff. 

"Be silent." Sesshoumaru scolded, gliding down the stair railing. "What is it?"

Kagura woke up, hearing murmurs and words. "How…?" She said out loud, but realized what happened soon enough. _That bastard_, she thought, sitting up and sneaking out of the room on her knees. She looked between the railings at a tall man and a little green toad.

"Naraku is currently near our area. He is searching for his lesser demon sister who has run away. I sense he will be here in 2 weeks…" The little toad demon replied, cringing at the news.

A chill ran down Kagura's spine. She could stay here no longer. Kagura rushed back into her room and pulled her yukata over her head. She scurried down the stairs in effort to escape, causing wind to swirl around her to hide herself.

"Go off, Jaken." Sesshoumaru replied to the little toad.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Look!" Jaken pointed at the red whoosh scurrying down the stairs. The red blur tried rushing past them, but Sesshoumaru stepped and lifted his claws and arm in its way, slicing it through the blur. The red blur crashed into it; the sound of ripping and loud profanity was heard. The red blur stopped and landed on the floor.

"Leave. Now, Jaken." Sesshoumaru ordered, and Jaken scurried off. Sesshoumaru looked down at the young female demon, who was looking at her yukata, around her in shreds. She rubbed her cheek, which was also clawed, and bleeding.

"I have to get out of here!" Kagura shouted at him. "Naraku is after me! I'm his incarnation, his sister!"

"I know you are his incarnation. But you aren't going anywhere." He replied coldly.

"You can't keep me here! Naraku will kill you!" Kagura shouted. She hated using Naraku as a threat for her protection, but she had to get away.

Sesshoumaru sniggered at her comment. "Naraku is a coward. He will never overcome my power." Sesshoumaru added. He looked away at that. "Naraku is nothing to be afraid of." He added.

"What?" Kagura shouted. Her facial expression changed from worried to shocked and surprised. Sesshoumaru turned around and locked his lips onto hers. Kagura's eyes popped open in anger, and Sesshoumaru's was staring right into hers.

"What the he-" Kagura started to shout, pushing him away, but before she could finish Sesshoumaru hit her on the head and knocked her out.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken said in astonishment. He was standing behind him and saw the whole thing. "Who was that girl? Was she that female Naraku was searching for? His sister?" Jaken asked. He was as lost minded as a wandering human in the forest.

"You will silence." Sesshoumaru ordered the little frog. "Where is my half brother located?" He asked.

"Inuyasha is located at the village of the dead in the western province." Jaken said quickly and nervously. "I believe he is on the way to this mansion. Maybe he'll be here…in 2 weeks?" He added, knowing the news would anger Sesshoumaru. But Sesshoumaru gave him no evil glare, or smack him in the head. Instead, he replied. "Good."


	3. Walk & Odd Words

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost.

* * *

_He hit me again!_, Kagura thought, finding herself in the same futon she awoke from earlier upstairs. It was no longer the afternoon, it was the night. She sat up and flipped over the blanket in anger. 'Wait till he gets a piece of my mind! Especially since he-', Kagura thought, pausing. 'He kissed me…' Kagura thought, lying back down onto the futon, raising her fingers to her lips. _But why…?_

'Why…why did he do that? Why did he insist to keep me here? Why the hell didn't he kill me when I first got here!' She pondered.

Sesshoumaru opened her door. "A late walk?" He asked coldly. "Here." He said, throwing a crimson colored kimono at her. Kagura sat up and took it, then looked back at him.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, clutching the kimono tightly without realizing it. It was silk made, like the silken tent a monk would use for venturing, and Kagura liked it.

"If anyone finds out that this mansion exists, there will be hell to pay." He told her coldly, and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Why is this?" Kagura asked after he left, but she put on the kimono and stepped out the room without knowing what she looked like.

"Come." Sesshoumaru said. He started walking out the door, and Kagura rushed down the stairs to catch up with him. "Be careful, that kimono was my mother's." He told her rudely, and she gave him an irritated look behind his back before following him.

Soon enough, they were outside walking in the forest. All anyone could ever hear were the sound of trees, and fallen leaves fell everywhere. It was fall, but already snow had fallen, and it was slight cold, if freezing. Soon they came across a path, a pebbled road. Although Kagura was not one who liked nature walks or even cared about things around her, it was safe to say that she liked this peace, and even though it was silent, Kagura showed it. She didn't have an irritated expression on her face, nor she flipped around at noises in suspicions. Sesshoumaru must have taken notice, for he started to speak.

"No one knows about this place." Sesshoumaru told her without looked at her. There was no cold tone in his voice, in fact, there was a tinge of kindness. "So I often came here when I was a child." He added, and paused, looking ahead. Kagura turned and saw why. There was a ratted black cloth on a tree fallen across the road. The two was also quite blackened, like it was burned down.

"Human monks were discovered here, and the trees were burned to keep them from coming back. They came here to perform a prayer in spring. A war started." He added coldly. The night was getting darker and darker by the minute, it seemed. Soon, only the sound of crickets chirping in the night was heard.

"Sesshoumaru. Why did you keep me here?" Kagura asked boldly.

"…" Sesshoumaru didn't say anything. It was hard for him to express his feelings when he actually had them. "Do you always think it's easy to find someone you love?" He asked coldly, and started speeding his pace.

"What?" Kagura said in surprise and shock. She had never thought about it before. She just thought that she would be ordered around and be killed by Naraku. She started picking up her pace to match Sesshoumaru.

"He told me to find a bride." Sesshoumaru said quietly.

"What?" Kagura asked again.

"Love is such a foolish thing, but now I don't believe so." Sesshoumaru added. "The star splitter demon will be out; we must return home." He started back through the pebbled road, and Kagura followed loosely behind him. When they had arrived at the mansion, Sesshoumaru walked upstairs to his room without saying a word.

'What…what was that about?' Kagura pondered. She was astonished that Sesshoumaru had spoken to her that way. Extremely exhausted, she climbed up the stairs and walked into her room, closing the door and pulled off the kimono, going to sleep.


	4. Flesh & Sake

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, man, I would have Stephen King books lining my walls.

**Random:** I am reading Stephen King's Green Mile and Cirque Du Freak #2 right now.

**Notes:** Hey again. **Fantastical Queen Ebony Black**, I'm sorry about the short chapters. Hopefully this one is longer? **Banana Rum**, thanks. Please enjoy this chapter. I enjoyed writing it. -

**

* * *

**"Sesshoumaru." Kagura said coldly. "I'm hungry." She added rudely. Kagura was leaning on the doorway of Sesshoumaru's room. It was bright lunch time, and she hadn't eaten in days. This wasn't the worse for her, though, but she was still hungry. Sesshoumaru was sitting on the floor sharpening a dagger. He had his back turned to her, and he reached out for a cloth without turning around. 

"Freezer." Sesshoumaru told her coldly.

"There is none. Remember?" Kagura told him angrily. She was agitated and hungry, and she didn't like the feeling. Nor did others around her.

Sesshoumaru turned his head around slowly. "Hunt." He told her, and he stood up, placing the dagger inside his kimono. He walked past a confused and irritated Kagura. "Lets go."

Kagura nodded, and walked after him. She pulled out a white fan from her kimono. It was her best weapon, white and embroidered with red designs.

"There are deer in the forest." Sesshoumaru stated. He kept walking and slid down the stairs.

"Deer?" Kagura asked out loud. She had always thought a highly known demon like him would have platters served with demon flesh. Deer was just something a weakling or brave human would kill and eat.

"Demon flesh has a taste most people must get used to. I haven't the patience." Sesshoumaru said. Kagura twisted her face in disgust and rolled her eyes.

_Whatever_, she thought.

"There's one." Sesshoumaru said, and he raised his arm to stop Kagura from walking forward. Silence.

_There's nothing here…_, Kagura thought, disregarding the fact that Sesshoumaru was a canine demon with excellent hearing.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru jumped into a bush with his dagger out of sight. A deer screamed, and seconds later, Sesshoumaru walked out holding a large deer, though dead.

"Let's go." He said coldly, and started walking to the mansion, returning through the brush. Kagura followed him with an irritated look on her face, as if she was thinking "_what was that?_"

* * *

Sesshoumaru slammed the deer carcass on the clean light tan colored tatami mat. Splattered crimson colored blood shown brightly against the tatami, seeping into the seams. Sesshoumaru clearly did not care about the mess; he normally ordered Jaken to clean it up. With a dagger, he cut the meat into pieces, laying them on a white sheet. 

Jaken was watching nearby. He shuddered at each slice and the sounds of splatter, knowing that he would have to clean it up. Kagura was also watching in astonishment and awe. Sesshoumaru was clearly someone who did not care or cringe at slaughter. Kagura's face reddened. She didn't know someone like him could be so cold and heartless.

After most of the meat was removed from the deer's bones, Sesshoumaru laid the bones aside, and carried most of the meat to the western hall. Blood splattered on his white kimono. He opened a door, threw the meat inside, and returned with no expression on his face. However, his eyes were stained red in a devilish way, and Jaken stepped backwards.

"Jaken. Undust the kotatsu table. Afterwards, drag this bone five miles from this temple." Sesshoumaru ordered. Jaken cringed. He didn't want to; he knew that Sesshoumaru could smell the scent of things at their location, however, Jaken would attract predators with the carcass and blood scented bones. Afterwards, Sesshoumaru picked up the remaining pieces of flesh and slid open a door, which led into a room with mats to sit on and a kotatsu.

Kagura followed. She hadn't entered this room before, and it looked old and undusted, like no one had ever used it in years. In fact, there were hand prints from when Sesshoumaru slid open the door, and Kagura took much notice to this.

"When was the last time you used this room?" She asked, looking around the ceiling and flooring.

"It hasn't been used since my father died." Sesshoumaru replied coldly. He waited patiently for Jaken to wipe the top of the table clean, then set the meat upon a roaster, turning it on to flame. "My father loved the ways of humans." Sesshoumaru added.

'Then why would he use it now?' Kagura thought, but she really knew. For her. She still pondered about the conversation they had a few nights before in a walk. She advanced towards the table, and sat at a mat, sliding her legs under the kotatsu blanket. It wasn't turned on, but it was still warmer than the outside temperature. Kagura looked towards the flame, and how it flickered. She loved fire, almost as much as wind and sky.

"Why cook it?" Kagura asked. She usually ate her meat fresh, if she had a chance to eat. Sesshoumaru looked at her and turned off the roaster.

"I rarely eat." Sesshoumaru said. In truth, he had no idea how to eat in front of someone else. Especially Kagura. He usually ripped flesh from the bone when he caught the meat, and when he was a child he remembered that his late father cooked meat for him so that it was bloody enough and yet so tender. He had liked it a little bit, but he didn't know how Kagura ate her flesh.

Kagura was thinking the same thing. She was not sure of how to eat in front of her host, yet she was so hungry she didn't quite care. However, she felt obligated, which was a new feeling for her, and she wished to be approved by him. Her thoughts were interrupted when Sesshoumaru slammed a large meat piece in front of her. It was still bloody, yet brown at some parts, due to the roast. Someone could call it rare. Kagura raised her eyes at Sesshoumaru, who had an even larger piece of flesh in front of him.

Sesshoumaru looked around the room with his eyes. He eyed an old compartment, and stood up, walking over to it. He slid it open, and took out on of its contents. It was an old styled sake bottle, with sake still swishing inside. Kagura watched every move he made.

"Sake?" Sesshoumaru asked Kagura.

"No fucking way. I won't have you take advantage of me!" Kagura replied, turning her head back around. She knew Sesshoumaru wouldn't do such a thing, but she liked to mock him. She felt Sesshoumaru eyeing her. "I want some." Kagura added softly.

A few hours later, neither of them had touched their food. Kagura had taken a few bites, but it wasn't enough to call it touched. Instead, she was drinking sake heavily, and even though she was silent at the moment, hours earlier she was loud. She had her head on the kotatsu table. And the both of them were on a strange topic, although Kagura was doing most of the speaking.

"…I don't believe…I've ever fallen in love before…" Kagura replied silently, obviously tired. "I doubt I ever will…but…there is this guy…Sessh…" Kagura added, and lastly, she fell asleep. Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow at her last word. He stood up, and walked over to her, picking her up. He headed up the stairs in silence. In her room, he bent over to set her down on her futon, his arms around her neck. Bad mistake.

"How dare you!" Kagura woke up and shouted abruptly, and she grabbed an old fashioned lamp and hit Sesshoumaru across the head, hitting him over and over until it broke. He rolled over on the futon, and Kagura, who was still blind drunk, also was knocked out in sleep.


	5. Ill Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost.

* * *

"Warm…" Kagura murmured. She clutched onto a warm blanket, pulling it closer toward her. For some reason, she felt as if she could stay in her state forever. She fluttered her eyes open and saw Sesshoumaru in his sleeping state, and closed her eyes again. 'Sesshoumaru…' She thought, and pulled what she thought was the blanket closer to her. 

Sesshoumaru woke up to the pull. He looked around him and tried to recall what had happened the night before. He turned his head, and cringed in pain, for the sudden turn of his neck released a headache. Then he saw her, clutching his kimono tightly. Sesshoumaru felt her warm breathe on his side.

He felt his cheeks redden lightly, and then shook it off. '_Foolishness._' He thought, although he didn't feel it was all true. Sesshoumaru turned his head again, and cringed at the pain of his neck. He looked around, and spotted broken glass, the lamp. Based on the broken lamp, he assumed that she tried to hit him, but he could not remember why or what had happened. '_I shall move._' Sesshoumaru thought, and he sat up to leave Kagura be.

His thoughts were interrupted when Kagura yawned. She moved up, resting her head on the "blanket" which was actually Sesshoumaru's chest. The option of getting up and leaving was no longer possible. Sesshoumaru had no choice but to wake her up.

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru ordered calmly. A mumble of frustration replied. "Kagura." Sesshoumaru repeated.

"What! What the hell do you want? I'm trying to sleep!" Kagura shouted, attempting to pull the "blanket" to cover her head. She failed, and suddenly Kagura wondered why Sesshoumaru was right next to her.

"You pervert!" She shouted and stood up immediately. Sesshoumaru just stood up, and headed towards the door.

"What were you doing here!" Kagura shouted, and Sesshoumaru turned around to answer. She suddenly felt dizzy, and swerved, falling forward. Sesshoumaru lept up and caught her before she fell onto the broken glass.

"What happened last night?" Kagura said quietly. "I don't remember anything…" She sloped down to her knees.

"I don't recall either." Sesshoumaru answered, and he left the room, sliding the door closed.

"What do you mean you don't "recall"!" Kagura yelled through the door.

* * *

'_The nerve of him!_' Kagura thought. She could not believe he had gotten her drunk and shared a futon with her. She still didn't believe his "don't recall" statement. How could he do that to her? She slammed closed the door to her room, and ignored Sesshoumaru when he called her. She felt awful. Her head spun, and she wandered down the creaky stairs towards the main door. Jaken was scrubbing the tatami mat, and he wiped his brow with his forearm. She stared at him oddly.

"What are you doing?" She asked, and narrowed her eyes at him. There was blood soaked in the tatami, and Kagura felt as if someone was murdered. Jaken looked up at her hopefully.

"Cleaning the blood. Don't you remember what you and Sesshoumaru did together?" Jaken asked her.

'_What! What we did together?_' She thought angrily. Jaken must have noticed her frustration so he quickly added on to his statement.

"Remember? You hunted a deer? Then you two got drunk. At least I think the both of you did. Maybe just you. I mean!" Jaken cowered, but Kagura just walked past him towards the door.

'_Sake…no wonder. I should have refused. Who knows what I said to Sesshoumaru? Her headache made her feel horrible and filthy._' Kagura thought. Before leaving, she turned around and looked at Jaken. "I'm going to take a walk." She said.

* * *

'Why can't I remember?' Sesshoumaru thought. He felt that he was missing something very important, like something was said last night which was forgotten. He shook his head to lose the thought. Yet he liked how strong Kagura was. He pondered on how she knocked him out with the lamp. He shrugged everything out and looked outside the window. He smelt the air. He knew that a snowstorm would be coming, and he perked his ear to hear Kagura's voice, if she was speaking at all.

"_Don't get lost. The woods are deep."_ He heard Jaken say. Sesshoumaru tsk-ed in disapprovement. 'Well, there was no use retrieving her now. It'll rain or snow, and Kagura will freeze.' He continued to look out the window. Tired, he lifted his own futon blanket and slept.

Kagura slid the door open, and shut it as silently as she could. She didn't want Sesshoumaru to know where she was going. She walked towards the rock that Sesshoumaru had taken her nights ago. Spotting the trail, she walked down it farther than he had taken her.

* * *

"**Boom!**" The thunder roared and Sesshoumaru woke up quickly. A flash of lightning lit the sky a few minutes later, and seconds counting another boom filled the sky. Sesshoumaru sat. '_Kagura!_' He thought, and he rushed down the stairs to Jaken, who was still cleaning the tatami floor. 

"Where is Kagura?" Sesshoumaru ordered. Jaken looked at him guiltily. But before Jaken could answer, Sesshoumaru had already left, and the cold wind shut the door with a bang.

Sesshoumaru sniffed the air, but he could not smell. The sulfur of the falling rain has censored smells from his nose, and all Sesshoumaru could smell was the faint scent of Kagura. He could not distinguish where it came from. He raced through the forest, rushing towards the scent.

Finally he found her, lying on the same road they had taken a few nights ago. As he flipped her over, he felt that her arms were cold, as was her face was white and cold, as no blood seemed to flow. Her eyes were closed, but she was alive, just weakly. Sesshoumaru picked her up, and dashed to the mansion.

* * *

Jaken put a warm towel soaked in hot water on Kagura's head. Kagura was fevering up, and was still unconscious. Sesshoumaru had changed her clothes into dry ones.

"What happened?" He asked quite silently afraid of being striked. Sesshoumaru said nothing. Instead, he stood up and shooed Jaken away, leaving the towel on her forehead. Jaken took too long, and Sesshoumaru simply kicked him out of the room, following a small "ow", he stepped out and slid the door closed. Then he simply went to his own room.

Jaken stayed. He wondered what happened to Kagura, and why his master cared so much for her. Poking his finger through the rice paper in the door, he peered inside. Kagura was sleeping, but fevering up. Jaken couldn't tell if it was sweat or the hot water from the towel dripping off her face. But he knew, that Kagura was really sick. Really ill.

Jaken felt a shadow above him and he looked up. Seeing Sesshoumaru, he smiled and scampered away. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. The door now had a huge hole the size of Jaken's eye ripped into it.

A few hours later, Kagura stirred. She coughed up some slime and rolled over to her side. She felt awful. There was only one other time she felt this way. When Naraku had tortured her. Weakly, she sat up, the damp towel fell to her lap, and her brain caught up with her. Her vision black, she clutched her pounding head.

_What had happened?_, she thought, and laid back down, still clutching her pounding head. She opened her eyes, looking at the door. A hole was there, and she rolled over to her other side. _Figures…_she thought.

* * *

"Kagura…Kagura…" Kagura heard a voice repeat over and over. She opened her eyes, looking straight into a pair of golden brown ones. 

"Kya…" She screamed softly, startled at first, but then knowing that it was Sesshoumaru. Still, she wondered why he had woken her up.

"What do you want now?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and stretching. The room was dark, and Kagura assumed it was late at night.

"You can't run away anymore." Sesshoumaru replied, still standing above her.

"What?" Kagura asked, surprised and confused. She moved her hands away from her eyes and looked back at Sesshoumaru. He had sat up next to her. "What are you talking about?" She asked, still confused. The sound of buzzing was around her and she turned quickly to see where it was coming from.

'_Saimyoushou!_' She thought, and quickly turned her head back towards Sesshoumaru. Only, it wasn't Sesshoumaru. It was Naraku. His long black tangled hair stained the carpet, and he reached his hand to her, grabbing her neck, closing his fingers around it tightly. She choked.

"Kagura…you can't escape now." He said, digging his fingernails into her neck. Kagura twisted, using her hands to pull off his on her neck, but it didn't work. Kagura gasped, unable to breathe. Naraku's face stretched, his face more gruesome and demonic, and bared his fangs, as if he were to bite her to her death.

She screamed.


	6. Battle For Her Heart

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost.

**Notes:** School is over, and although it hasn't quite sunken into my brain yet, I'm glad. Expect more updates, I'm alive again. Wait...was I ever? Anyway, go find the song **Shima Uta** by _The Boom_ and listen to it. Significance? My own nostalgia. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Sesshoumaru sat up suddenly. 

_'Kagura..._' He thought, and stood up, rushing to Kagura's room. She was sweating profusly, her face ill stricken and frustrated. Ripping cloth from a sheet nearby, he sat down next to her futon and wiped her forehead gently.

"Kagura..." He whispered, and her face softened, as if her nightmare faded. Kagura's eyes opened.

"Sessh...Sesshoumaru..." She whispered weakly. She reached up for his hand. Taking it, she placed it on her cheek, and closed her eyes again, asleep.

'What is this feeling?' Sesshoumaru thought. A strange feeling in his upper left chest.

* * *

Sesshoumaru slept quite horribly. He didn't understand why. Perhaps his conscience was teasing him about the walk the few last evenings ago. Or perhaps his worry for Kagura. She was delusional, screaming in the night, fearful for her life. Sesshoumaru assumed it had been Naraku that affected her so badly. 

Even so, Sesshoumaru woke up, and without pulling his top kimono on, he walked into a room at the end of the hall where his armoire was located. He lifted his Tenseiga, and held it up, swishing the air with it. He hadn't had combat practice in a while.

"Sesshoumaru!" A loud voice shouted into the halls, and the main door closed with a loud bang. "Hey female!" The voice shouted out again.

'Could that be Inuyasha?' Kagura thought, waking up to the noise, and she sat up without thinking and headed out to the wooden railing. Sesshoumaru had also run out at the same time she did, so they stood together at the same spot unintentionally.

"Cover your eyes Shippou!" A young man dressed in monk attire shouted at a small fox boy who was carrying a small cat like demon. Two girls nodded. Inuyasha sniggered.

"I'd never think you would be up to that sort of thing, Sesshoumaru. Perhaps you aren't such a female after all." A fifteen year old looking guy shouted. He was wearing a bright red yukata and had long white hair, similar to Sesshoumaru's, except that he had two dog ears one his head. Anyone could easily tell they were brothers.

It took a while for the both of them to realize what he was talking about. Suddenly Kagura looked at Sesshoumaru and back at herself. She suddenly realized that her yukata was in shreds on the floor by Inuyasha's feet and was just wearing her white under-yukata. Sesshoumaru was shirtless, for the reason that he was practicing sword fighting in the armoire room. "Damn!" She blushed and shouted somewhat girlishly, running into her room. Sesshoumaru took notice of this, but he didn't show it.

"Have you news of where Naraku may be headed?" Sesshoumaru asked Inuyasha without caring about his previous comment.

"We thought you would know. She thought, I mean!" Inuyasha replied, glancing at a young girl dressed in a modern day school uniform whom was Kagome. "He's looking for Kagura! He'll come this way, now that he knows you have her." Inuyasha added, referring to the fact that Naraku held and watched Kagura with her heart. "You better keep and eye on that wench of yours in there."

"Shut the hell up!" Someone in the room shouted back at the comment, obviously Kagura.

"Just keep an eye on your own wench." Sesshoumaru replied, referring to Kagome, the young girl next to him. Kagome blushed and shook her head, and Inuyasha turned bright red.

"What's that mean!" Inuyasha shouted back but Sesshoumaru had already turned around and headed back into his room by then.

"By the way…" Sesshoumaru said without turning around. "Don't make yourself at home. But the little toad demon Jaken will tend to you, if you wish so." Sesshoumaru added. By habit, he walked into his old room, which held Kagura at the moment.

Kagura was hiding her face in a pillow, lying on the futon. There were some pillows shredded and feathers and cloth were scattered everywhere. She looked up when he closed the door, his back to her.

"What the hell do you want?" Kagura shouted, and Sesshoumaru flipped around in surprise. He looked around the room, a little confused, but looked back at Kagura, whose face was slightly red.

"Why are you…" Sesshoumaru started out, but he remembered that it was her room now. "Clean this up." He told her.

"No one orders me around!" Kagura shouted, standing up and glaring at him, fist in air. "Get out now!" Kagura shouted. Sesshoumaru rose his arm to knock her out, but he knew it would have no use. He turned around and headed out, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"Maybe it's a love affair." Kagome said, taking a bowl of _miso_soup from Jaken. She and the others were sitting around a dusty table. They were eating, with the exception of Inuyasha, who was still heated up by Sesshoumaru's last comment. He sat away from Kagome, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. 

"What's that, Kagome?" Shippou asked, gobbling up his soup. Miroku and the other girl, Sango, looked up to hear her answer.

"Its like a secret romance…something like that. A secret love relationship." She explained slowly, taking a sip from her soup bowl. Kirara, the small cat demon mewed and rested upon Sango's lap.

"Sort of like the one Inuyasha and you have?" Shippou asked. Kagome almost dropped her bowl, and Inuyasha opened his eyes to object.

"No, like the one Sango and Miroku are having!" He shouted, referring to the young monk and the demon exterminator next to him. This time Sango almost dropped her bowl.

"Speaking of that…" Miroku smiled, reaching out to Sango. He had a smug smile on his face and his arm reached lower and lower behind her.

"Don't you try anything you pervert!" Sango shouted at him, raising her arm to slap him. Miroku tended to feel her butt, and even though it all resulted in a slap, but he didn't care anyway.

"So this mansion was your father's?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, ignoring both Sango and Miroku.

"Part of it. The rest burned down when I was born." Inuyasha replied. "One day I'm going to rule this place. And I will have a lovely bride too. Once I kick Sesshoumaru out." He added. Kagome looked slightly irritated at the "bride" comment.

"Do you really believe you can defeat me, foolish hanyou." Sesshoumaru said coldly behind him. This time he was fully dressed in his kimono.

"Hey! I will beat you!" Inuyasha shouted at him.

"Keh. Don't have foolish dreams." Sesshoumaru replied. He didn't even rise or drop his tone at all.

"Lets just focus on killing Naraku." Sango said out of nowhere. Everyone looked at her and the monk, who was rolling around, clutching and rubbing his face. "Lets just kill him. He will be here soon, in search for Kagura. And Sesshoumaru, if you don't do anything about it, she will be lost to you." She added. Sesshoumaru eyed her irritably.

"What makes you think-" He started to say, but lifted his nose in the air. "Naraku is near."

"That's only Kagura you smell." Inuyasha told him, but also sniffed the air.

"Don't contradict my nose, hanyou." Sesshoumaru said, and he walked out into the main hall. The others followed quickly behind him, and Inuyasha stepped up in front of him. "He's twenty meters away from the mansion."

"You're right! Come on, lets go!" Inuyasha shouted, pulling Kagome over his back. The cat demon morphed into a larger form, and Sango, Miroku, and Shippou hopped onto it. They raced out the door, and it shut with a large bam.

"No!" Kagura shouted, rushing down the stairs. She had been listening. "He can't be here. Not yet." Kagura murmured in fear. She cornered into the wall, and sat, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes stared past the main door, and she started trembling with fear.

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru whispered. He knelt down to her side and touched her cheek. She shook startled at his touch, and looked away from the door, into his eyes. "I wish to die. Not be tortured." She told him, and closed her eyes. Small tears ran down her cheeks.

_Torture…_ Sesshoumaru thought. _She was mortified of torture._ He wondered what awful things Naraku had done to her, and grew angry. He face stretched out, and his arms grew to the side of his legs, white fur sprouting in his skin. He clenched his teeth in pain and growled. At the sound Kagura opened her eyes, some what shocked to see Sesshoumaru replaced by a large white canine. _Kagura__…_ Sesshoumaru thought, and he licked her on the cheek. Watching Jaken strut to the door and open it, Sesshoumaru dashed out.

"Naraku!" Sango shouted out, still on Kirara's back. "I will avenge my brother!" She shouted throwing her large white boomerang at him. She yelled "Hiraikotsu" when she did so.

Kirara lept down into the forest in fear. "Kirara, what are you doing!" Sango shouted, and she hopped of her and started racing towards the clearing. "Kirara!" She shouted back at him, and ran into Miroku, who was also hiding in the forest, with Shippou and Kagome.

"Look." Kagome said and pointed towards a large white canine with stripes on his cheeks and a moon on his forehead. "Do you suppose that's…Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked. Only he and Inuyasha were fighting Naraku. Inuyasha was hopping around, and sliced the air with his sword, the scar of the wind. "Kaze no Kizu!" He shouted.

"Hehe, Sesshoumaru, I'd never thought you would love Kagura." Naraku shouted. "Let me have your brother's possession of the shards, and Kagura's heart would be yours."

Inuyasha turned his head at Sesshoumaru, making an expression that said "no way".

"Lies." Sesshoumaru growled. "You will die now, Naraku!" He shouted, and dove toward him. A large white paw struck Naraku's face, and four claw marks remained. Blood splurted quickly, pouring down his face and neck.

"Beware, the heart I hold in my hand is not mine." Naraku suddenly shouted, and he pulled a beating heart from his ribs. "I held it here just for you, Sesshoumaru." He sneered. He took his hand, and with one long fingernail, he scratched at the heart, scraping it.

"Argh!" Kagura shouted inside the mansion. No normal ear would hear it, but Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha still did.

"Cease fighting!" Sesshoumaru growled at Inuyasha.

"Forget it. She dies." Naraku shouted, and he dropped his barrier and tilted his hand over and dropped the heart. It fell from his hands, and was about to land on some rocks, but Sesshoumaru dove and clamped it lightly in his fangs. Another scream was heard from the mansion.

"Shards, Sesshoumaru." Naraku ordered. He didn't, however, return his barrier. Kagome lifted her bow and pulled out a sacred arrow. She aimed at Naraku's heard. She released the arrow. The arrow dove through the air, and pierced Naraku's heart.

"Fools!" He shouted, but it was too late. Inuyasha had realized and raised his Tessaiga, shouting "Kaze no Kizu!" Sango had also thrown her boomerang at Naraku's head. It sliced off, and returned to her, and Inuyasha's wind scar attack sliced him into pieces.


	7. Free

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha, why would I need to go to the school I hate so much? I don't own it. I seriously don't think we need disclaimers, for the website Url this story is hosted on its in fact, Either way, Inuyasha and company belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The used poem titles belong to Robert Frost.

**Date Written: **June 8, 2005

**Notes:** It seemed like everyone thought that that was the last chapter. You guys are so missing out if you read it and left. There's one more chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter. **Yumi**, I'm glad you liked this story and cried for it, but its not over yet. **Tywell**, I really don't know if its the real Naraku who is dead yet. But I think and hope so. And at least Kagura is free. **Banana Rum** and **Fanta**, I hope you like this chapter. I'm sorreh that its a little late.I only didn't use one peom title.

* * *

Kagura was lying on the floor trembling hard, clutching her chest when Sesshoumaru found her. She was breathing heavily, and feverish. Sesshoumaru had already returned to his human looking form and sat down next to her. He held Kagura's beating but bloody heart in his hands. Kagura took no notice. 

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru said calmly, and set the heart in front of her. It glowed, and faded into a glow of light through Kagura's chest. Kagura flinched back, but her heavy breathing and trembling ceased. She still didn't awaken.

"Kagura." Sesshoumaru repeated, his voice tone rising, and he had an urge to shake her and make sure she was okay and awake. But he didn't. Instead, he stood up and left her, heading up the stairs. At the top, he slid open a door and entered, closing it behind him.

Inuyasha and the rest stared astonished, lowering their eyes back to Kagura when Sesshoumaru shut the door closed. Especially Kagome, who was shocked and amazed that he left Kagura as so.

"Why would…why did he leave her here?" She asked, a bit angry, and she went over to Kagura's side and felt her forehead. Not hot, but chill. A big difference indeed. Kagome looked up at the door, and then back at her friends.

Inuyasha, closed his eyes, opened them, and turned around, walking toward another paper door, sliding it open and entering. Everyone watched him leave.

"Naraku's dead." He said before he closed it shut. At this point, they realized it. Sango and Shippou smiled, and Miroku jerked his right hand up, ripping off the charms. His palm was normal. No black hole was there, instead, replaced by peach colored skin. They had all been so concerned with Kagura.

Kagome did not smile. Instead, she was furious that Sesshoumaru would leave Kagura like that. The others didn't understand much romance, so Kagome didn't expect them to understand. Without saying a word, she ran up the stairs and knocked on the door of Sesshoumaru's room, almost ripping the rice paper.

Jaken watched her from the same hall with a shocked and amazed look on his face. '_She's going to be killed_.' He thought. No one answered the door. Kagome, who was being stubborn, poked her finger through the rice paper and peered inside.

"There's no one in there!" She exclaimed, and slid open the door, only to see that the window was open. "He just left!"

"Come on Kagome. We don't need to be here anymore." Inuyasha said. Nodding, Kagome returned with her friends and together, they left. Kagura was still left on the floor, alone with Jaken, who was still upstairs, and apparently fixing the hole Kagome ripped open in Sesshoumaru's door.

Kagura, who had finally come to her senses, sat up and shivered. She looked up at Jaken, and asked, "Is Sesshoumaru really gone?" Jaken looked at her and nodded. "Then there's no use for me to be here." She said, and stood up weakly, leaning on the wall for support. Regaining her strength, she slowly walked towards the door, pulling it open and closing it behind her.

* * *

Kagura sighed. Before, she had been bond and free now that Naraku was killed. But she didn't feel content. And then she realized it. She had felt love, maybe still feels love. She thought about the love and a question popped into her mind. Why had Sesshoumaru left her without a word? There had she had outlived the span of life, and he had been the one to free her from it. But why had he left? The more she thought about it, the more she didn't realize where she was going. In the end, she ended up at the path Sesshoumaru had led her once before. Leaning against a cliff dwelling over what had happened, a silver strand of hair that flew over her face in the wind caught her attention. Reaching up and grabbing it before it flew away, she realized it was Sesshoumaru's. Climbing over the cliff, her face met two feet, and she looked up and saw who she had been pondering about. 

Sesshoumaru, pointing at a few red flowers next to him, took her hand and pulled her up beside him. There, he said, "Those are yours." And Kagura smiled as she realized he had gone flower gathering. Smelling them, she leaned her head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, who had frozen up, and smiled. Sesshoumaru didn't smile, but he was truly happy.

**The end.**


End file.
